Humboldt in media spotlight
-- again

STILL REELING FROM NATIONAL MEDIA ATTENTION
following the death of Earth First! activist David Chain, police use of
pepper spray on demonstrators and the battle over the Headwaters deal, the
expression "no news is good news" couldn't be more accurate for
Humboldt County.

But the media spotlight is again trained
on Eureka as confessed serial killer Wayne Adam Ford, 36, of Arcata, awaits
his fate in the Humboldt County jail.

Hours after news of Ford's surrender to
sheriff's deputies Nov. 3, reporters from all over California descended
on the county seat, interviewing every source possible, from tavern owners
to the county coroner, and blanketing the area with cameras.

Questioned by media outside the courtroom,
public defender Kevin Robinson appeared miffed when a microphone narrowly
missed hitting him in the jaw, and Deputy Public Defender Worth Dikeman
suggested to reporters that a change of venue in the case would be likely
given the attention they were providing the case.

Ford, an Arcata truck driver who reportedly
turned himself in because he was tormented by urges to kill his former wife,
convinced deputies his confession was real by producing a severed breast
he had been keeping frozen. He has confessed to killing four women hitchhikers
he picked up while driving in various parts of California over the past
year. He has also been linked to beating a prostitute in Santa Rosa who
has reportedly identified Ford as her attacker.

Ford has so far been charged with one count
of murder, for the slaying of an unidentified woman whose body was dismembered
and the torso dumped in Eureka's Ryan Slough. Ford has pleaded not guilty
to the charge, but Knight-Ridder Newspapers reported Tuesday that the suspect
told family members he does not want a trial and wants to be put to death
for his crimes.

He is scheduled to be back in court Nov.
16.

PALCO suspension 'unprecedented'

The California Department of Forestry and
Fire Protection's decision to suspend the Pacific Lumber Co.'s timber operator's
license was reached after a "long, arduous" process and marks
the first time a major timber company has been subjected to such an action,
a CDF spokeswoman said.

"We have taken the licenses of timber
companies before but they have all been small companies. This is unprecedented
for a timber operation this large," said Information Officer Karen
Terrill.

"The director (Richard A. Wilson)
obviously gave a lot of thought to this decision and made it based on specific
documentation and after a long, arduous process of evaluations."

Pacific Lumber responded Tuesday by laying
off 180 employees from its workforce of nearly 1,600 people. The suspension
immediately threatens logging operations through Dec. 31, the slowest time
of year for the company. It does not affect Palco's contract loggers, which
are responsible for roughly half of the company's output.

"This is very difficult very, very
difficult," said PL spokeswoman Mary Bullwinkel.

In a news release, company President John
Campbell stated: "This current situation is unacceptable for a company
that prides itself on its dedication to the principles of conservation and
environmental protection and enhancement."

In response, Campbell said he was developing
"strong safeguards to ensure this does not happen again."

A five-point plan released Tuesday includes
formation of a compliance team, a review of the company's compliance efforts,
expanded oversight, further training for equipment operators and truck drivers,
and open communication with regulators to "build mutual respect."

The company has five days to appeal the
decision, which was made in response to "continued violations of the
state's forest practice rules," CDF said. If PL appeals, CDF director
Wilson has 10 days to decide whether to terminate Palco's license.

"For Pacific Lumber to prevail they
would have to convince the deputy director and the director that these violations
did not exist," Terrill said.

Termination of the license would mean Pacific
Lumber would not be able to harvest trees through the end of the year. It
could apply for a new license for 1999, although past violations would be
taken into consideration by CDF at that time.

On Tuesday, Bullwinkel said Pacific Lumber
was working to set up a meeting with CDF. "We do feel we've made progress
in terms of reducing the number of violations over last year," she
said.

In 1997 CDF refused to renew Palco's license,
but a stipulated agreement was reached allowing the company to keep operating
on a conditional license. CDF maintains Palco violated terms of that agreement.

September retail
sales rise

September proved to be a good month in
Humboldt County for real estate agents, business owners and hotel operators.

Retail sales rose 5.7 percent over the
previous month and were stronger than at any time since 1994, according
to the latest findings in the Index of Economic Activity for Humboldt County.

"Seasonally adjusted retail sales
in September 1998 were about 25 percent above levels observed in 1994-96,
indicating the retail sector is enjoying marked growth," according
to the index compiled by Humboldt State University's business and economics
department.

Homes sales here were up 9.3 percent in
September, the strongest showing for that particular month since 1994, when
HSU began tracking the local economy.

Manufacturing output, primarily measured
by board feet of lumber, was up 10.1 percent during September, similar to
September 1997 but about 15 percent above 1994-96 levels.

Overall, the Index of Economic Activity
rose a modest 1.7 percent for the month.

"The rather small overall increase
... is primarily due to unchanged levels of electricity usage and labor
employment, and masks strong performance in the home sales, retail, manufacturing
and hospitality sectors," the index states.

Ch. 6 debuts
5 p.m. newscast

Some two months after Seattle, Wash.-based
media conglomerate the Ackerley Group announced its intention to purchase
Eureka television station KVIQ Channel 6, the news department has added
a third evening newscast.

Renamed Action News 6, the station premiered
its 5 p.m. weekday newscast on Monday. Half-hour newscasts also air at 6
and 11 p.m.

"We're definitely in the mode of expanding
and enhancing local news in a big way," said Station Manager Jeanne
Buheit.

The local newscast on CBS affiliate Channel
6 has long lagged behind competitor KIEM Channel 3 in viewership, but Ackerley
has indicated its plans to change that. Nilsen ratings for July showed Channel
6 was watched by 9 percent of the households in the market area, while leader
Channel 3 saw 41 percent of households tuned in. The third local television
news program, on KAEF Channel 23, was watched by 6 percent of households.

An August news release said, "The
Ackerley Group is known for strengthening local news in the markets in which
they operate. Stations managed or owned by the Ackerley Group gain greater
viewership or become leaders in their markets because of the company's commitment
to provide the most comprehensive television news in the market."

Ackerley, which owns or operates 10 television
stations as well advertising businesses and the Seattle SuperSonics basketball
team, has entered into a definitive agreement to buy KVIQ from Miller Broadcasting
Inc. for $5.5 million. And for the past two months it has been pumping money
into the station with equipment purchases and personnel additions.

Buheit, hired by Ackerley, is among a growing
group of new employees. The station hired a news director last month and
most recently added another news anchor and reporter. Veteran reporter Dave
Silverbrand is continuing with the station and will co-anchor the evening
newscasts. Pattison Christensen has remained as the station general manager.

Eureka precinct
a bellwether

Humboldt County voters appeared to follow
their personal beliefs and political parties in the Nov. 3 election, with
the exception of the proposed tobacco tax, according to a Humboldt State
University exit poll.

Party played a part in the Proposition
10 vote, but tobacco use proved to be the most salient factor, the poll
conducted by political science students showed. Fifty-eight percent of the
Democrats polled said they voted in favor of the initiative, compared with
29 percent of the Republicans. Fifty-five percent of nonsmokers supported
the proposition, while 90 percent of smokers opposed it. The measure's outcome
is still undecided.

The HSU students conducted the poll on
Election Day in a bellwether precinct in Eureka using a computer model that
found the precinct where in previous elections ballots cast came closest
to the final election results. Voters were asked to check a number of characteristics
about themselves. The results were compared with state totals and cross-tabulated
with those characteristics.

The exit poll was not scientific, however
the students found the results to be fairly accurate for the races polled,
according to a survey summary.

In addition to voting patterns related
to smoking, the poll also found that voters' personal beliefs were stronger
than their political party affiliation in all the candidate races, except
the contest for state Assembly and U.S. representative, where party was
slightly more dominant.

Virginia Strom-Martin received 78 percent
of the votes from Democrats in her race to retain her Assembly seat and
just 22 percent from Republicans, while 72 percent of Republicans and 11
percent of Democrats voted for challenger Sam Crump.

In the race for U.S. representative, Mike
Thompson had both a higher percentage of Democratic votes and Republican
votes than any other Democratic candidate, 80 and 44, respectively. Among
Republicans, Matt Fong received the highest percent of Republican votes,
74, and Democratic votes, 37, bucking the statewide trend that retained
U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer by a significant margin.

On Proposition 5, to permit house-banked
gaming in Indian casinos, party may have played a larger role than ideology.
Seventy percent of Democrats supported the measure and 55 percent of Republicans
opposed it.

Neither the respondents' education nor
income seemed to affect the way people voted. For example, four people in
the sample with master's degrees voted for Gray Davis for governor as did
three out of four people who had less than a high school diploma.

Seventy percent of those in the higher
income bracket, those making more than $60,000 a year, identified themselves
as Democrats. Republicans were more prevalent in the middle income group,
44 percent to 40 percent. But there were more low-income Democrats 47 percent
compared with 38 percent of Republicans.

And, like the nation, it appeared the Clinton-Lewinsky
affair had only a minimal effect on the election outcome.

Seventy-four percent of the respondents
said they would have voted the way they did regardless of the scandal. Twelve
percent said it made them vote for more Democrats, while 14 percent said
it made them lean more toward Republicans, a net effect on 2 percent of
the voters.

Beginning in January, Humboldt County residents
will be able to apply for up to 300 jobs with the Census Bureau in connection
with the year 2000 census.

Shannon Gallant, employment program representative
for the state Employment Development Department, said the bureau is interested
in people who can work on the weekends either part- or full-time.

"But they (the bureau) don't seem
to be real picky," she said. "They seem willing to accommodate
people ... all over Humboldt County."

The official census begins April 1, 2000.
In the meantime, Gallant said workers will be assigned various tasks, such
as locating habitable buildings, updating maps, collecting statistics and
demographic data and checking names against phone books and registries.
Pay begins at $7 an hour.

Once the census begins, workers are expected
to spend most of their time locating addresses and conducting door-to-door
interviews.

Census takers are not eligible for federal
employee health benefits, but they are covered for disability in case of
injury on the job.

To be a census worker, applicants must
be a U.S. citizen, be at least 18 years of age, have a valid driver's license,
be free of convictions (other than minor traffic violations) and be registered
with the Selective Service (males only). In addition, applicants must pass
a security and employment reference check and pass a test demonstrating
an ability to read, follow written instructions, do basic arithmetic and
read maps.

Gallant said the bureau also intends to
open a facility in Eureka in 1999, which will bring several clerical positions
to the county.

For more information, call the Employment
Development Department at 445-6532 or go to www.caljobs.ca.gov on the Internet.